Jack Nicholson ‘Basically’ Retired From Acting, Says Peter Fonda

The last time was saw Jack Nicholson on the big screen was 2010, in James L. Brooks’ middling dramedy How Do You Know. He played a weaselly white-collar crook who asks his son to take the rap for a crime he committed, in a performance characterized by the usual Nicholsonian deviousness. The movie didn’t make too much of a splash, forgotten after a few weeks taking up space in cineplexes. That film may take on an unexpected tragic air in light of the breaking news that it may contain Nicholson’s swan song.

Indiewire notes a Page Six quote from Nicholson’s longtime friend Peter Fonda (the two worked together on counterculture classic Easy Rider) in which the actor states that Nicholson may be out of the game for good. At the BAFTA Awards Season Tea Party, he said, “I think [Nicholson] is ­basically retired... I don’t want to speak for him, but he has done a lot of work and he has done very well as a person financially.” Indiewire’s post goes on to add that rumors have long circulated about Nicholson’s struggle with memory loss, though his representatives have denied it. “Sometimes ­people have a reason that you don’t know, and it’s not for me to ask,” Fonda added. “I don’t call him up and say, ‘Johnny,’ I call him Johnny Hop, ‘What are you doing?’ I would say, ‘How are you, how do you feel?’”

If Nicholson’s acting days are indeed over, he can look back on a career filled with memorable roles and awards hardware. Feel free to weigh in with your favorite Jack Nicholson performance in the comments, and revisit one of his all-time greatest moments: